A couple and their two children died after a major fire broke out in a multi-storey building in Kohat Enclave on April 13.
A building resident claimed, “We called the Fire Department thrice but the operator kept wasting time asking about the nature of the fire. During the second call, the operator wanted to know if the fire had been doused and whether we really needed the Fire Department’s assistance.”
However, the Fire Department rejected this allegation and countered it with a call record.
“We often face such charges during or after rescue operations. We understand the urgency but navigating through traffic congestion and encroachment is not an easy task. We always try to keep the response time as short as we can to reach the incident site,” said Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Atul Garg.
Besides lack of manpower, narrow alleys and encroachments are a major challenge for firefighters. They faced the same hurdle while fighting a fire in Gandhi Nagar on April 23, 2018, in which two persons died.
“It takes around 20 minutes during the day and 10 minutes at night for fire engines to respond to an emergency. Sometimes, encroachments and congestion delay rescue operations. The response time is around 10 minutes, but it can stretch to 20 minutes or even 30 minutes at times,” said a fireman.
The DFS said encroachments by shopkeepers and traffic jams also lead to delay in response time. At night, vehicles illegally parked on roads and service lanes also create problems.
“We are in the process of constructing more fire stations in the city, keeping in mind the increase in the number of calls and the population. But we have enough infrastructure to deal with fire incidents,” said a fire official.
The department stated that 11 new fire stations will be built soon.
Manpower also remains a pressing issue. Against a sanctioned strength of 3,619, the Fire Department currently has 2,077 personnel — a shortfall of 1,542 employees.
High temperatures
“Fire engines have a capacity to hold 12,000 litres of water. When in operation, the entire tank gets emptied in six minutes and people end up alleging that we arrived with an empty tank. We never want causalities or damage to properties. People do not understand how we deal with temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius during a firefighting operation,” said a fireman who has saved several lives in his 20-year career.
Last year, two firemen died in separate fire incidents.
The firemen added that people in residential areas need to be more aware of the fire safety systems.
“Short-circuits due to outdated electrical fittings are a common cause of fire during the summer. People should update electrical fittings and keep a check on things that may lead to a fire in the house. In the Gandhi Nagar case, a garments manufacturing unit was functioning in a residential building. It was located in a narrow lane. The fire engine could not reach the house. We had to draw water lines to the house from the fire engine,” recalled a fireman who was a part of the rescue operations.
